This invention relates to a mold, and, particularly to a mold for forming a latex lid to seal a beverage cup which has a thinned area preferably with a hole therein for the insertion of a straw.
It is known to provide a beverage cup with a plastic lid 1 which has a criss-cross cut 1a therein, as shown in FIG. 1, to permit the insertion of a straw. The plastic lid is semi-rigid and nonstretchable and must therefore be manufactured in different sizes to suit different sizes of cups. Moreover, since such plastic lids are usually made of polystyrene, the used lids create pollution problems when they are discarded or burned.
Another kind of lid used for beverage cups is made of a latex. The latex lid can effectively seal a cup. It is flexible and stretchable so that a latex lid with a certain dimension can be used for different sizes of cups. However, such a latex lid is not provided with any holes and, therefore, must be pierced with the end of a straw before the straw is inserted into the cup to which the lid is attached. In some cases, the small torn fragment of the lid created when piercing the latex lid falls into the content of the cup, thus possibly incurring the risk of the user sucking the fragment into his/her mouth. In many cases, the latex lid is accidentally torn by the piercing straw, causing the content in the cup to leak out from the tear.